Scrapbooking digital content in computing devices

ABSTRACT

Techniques are disclosed for providing a scrapbooking function in electronic computing devices. The user can engage the scrapbooking function with a content sampling command that engages a scrapbook creation mode which virtually rips a digital content sample from a content source. The digital content sample may be displayed to the user with a torn edge, as if it had been physically torn from a magazine or catalogue. The content sampling command may be, for example, a swipe gesture, an S-gesture, or selecting a scrapbook UI control feature. The user may save the sampled content into a new scrapbook or save it to an existing scrapbook. The user may also engage the scrapbooking function by entering a scrapbook viewing mode which allows the user to view and edit existing scrapbooks. The content sample may include all encrypted data present in the digital content from which it is sampled.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/912,972 (filed 7 Jun. 2013), the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates to electronic display devices, and moreparticularly, to user interface (UI) techniques for interacting withcomputing devices.

BACKGROUND

Electronic display devices such as tablets, eReaders, mobile phones,smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other such touchscreen electronic display devices are commonly used for displayingconsumable content. The content may be, for example, an eBook, an onlinearticle or blog, images, a movie or video, a map, just to name a fewtypes. Such display devices are also useful for displaying a userinterface that allows a user to interact with an application running onthe device. The user interface may include, for example, one or moretouch screen controls and/or one or more displayed labels thatcorrespond to nearby hardware buttons. The touch screen display may bebacklit or not, and may be implemented for instance with an LED screenor an electrophoretic display. Such devices may also include other touchsensitive surfaces, such as a track pad (e.g., capacitive or resistivetouch sensor) or touch sensitive housing (e.g., acoustic sensor).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1a-b illustrate an example electronic touch screen device having ascrapbook function configured in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 1c-d illustrate example configuration screen shots of the userinterface of the electronic touch screen device shown in FIGS. 1a -b,configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2a illustrates a block diagram of an electronic touch screen deviceconfigured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2b illustrates a block diagram of a communication system includingthe electronic touch screen device of FIG. 2a , configured in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3a-d illustrate an example scrapbook function of an electronictouch screen device, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 4a-e illustrate an example scrapbook function of an electronictouch screen device, in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 5a-d illustrate an example scrapbook viewing and editing mode ofan electronic touch screen device, in accordance with another embodimentof the present invention.

FIGS. 6a-g illustrate an example scrapbook viewing and editing mode ofan electronic touch screen device, in accordance with another embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method for providing a scrapbook function in anelectronic touch screen device, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Techniques are disclosed for providing a scrapbooking function inelectronic computing devices, such as a touch screen device. The usercan engage the scrapbooking function with a content sampling commandthat engages a scrapbook creation mode. The scrapbook creation mode mayvirtually rip a digital content sample from a content source and displaythat sample to the user along with a scrapbook control menu. The digitalcontent sample may be displayed to the user with a torn edge, as if ithad been physically torn from a magazine or catalogue. The contentsample may include all encrypted and/or embedded data (e.g., rich mediasuch as audio/video and any metadata such as content universal ID codeand hyperlink to original content source) present in the digital contentfrom which it is sampled. In some embodiments, the digital contentsample may toggle between encrypted and unencrypted content and mayprompt for the appropriate credentials if not already there. The contentsampling command may be, for example, a one-contact or two-contact swipegesture oriented either upward or downward. Alternatively, the contentsampling command may involve selecting a scrapbook UI control feature.The user may save the digital content sample into a new scrapbook orsave it to an existing scrapbook. The user may also engage thescrapbooking function by entering a scrapbook viewing mode which allowsthe user to view and edit existing scrapbooks. The user may create,delete, or edit notes relating to the scrapbook, or reorder thescrapbook pages. The user may also access the original source of thesampled content, for instance, based on embedded data of that sampledcontent (such as by selecting a hyperlink in the digital sample), andmay download scrapbooks and/or share them with users of other electronicdevices.

General Overview

As previously explained, electronic display devices such as tablets,eReaders, and smart phones are commonly used for displaying userinterfaces and consumable content. The user of such devices cantypically consume the displayed content with relative ease. In someinstances, the user may wish to save portions of digital content into apersonalized digital scrapbook which may be viewed and edited by theuser. While general functions suitable for copying and pasting contentinto user-created documents or files may be available in some electronicdevices, a scrapbooking function as described herein may provide a moreintuitive or otherwise positive user experience.

Thus, and in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,digital scrapbooking techniques are disclosed for use in electronictouch screen devices. A digital scrapbooking function allows a user tovirtually rip or sample digital content and save that content into apersonalized collection or digital scrapbook. The digital scrapbook mayinclude a collection of other chosen content saved from numerous digitalcontent sources. For instance, the content being sampled may includeselected pages or portions of a digital catalogue, magazine, comics,eBook, text, graphics, images, audio/video files, and/or other digitalcontent that may be accessed through an eReader application or othercomputing device content consumption interface. In some embodiments, thescrapbooking function may be completely integrated within an eReaderapplication, thus making the scrapbook creation mode part of theeReading experience.

In some embodiments, the digital content sample that is virtually rippedmay include all of the metadata that may be present in the originaldigital content source. For example, the embedded metadata may includeany hot-spots (hyperlinks), catalog product detail information, htmltext-data, pictures or video, links to the website including affiliateIDs, a unique identifying number of the original content being sampled(e.g., UPC, EAN, or other international product/article identifiers),and/or any other embedded data. Furthermore, in some embodiments thedigital content sample may itself act as a link that can allow the userto access the original digital content source using one or more touchscreen gestures or UI control features. Each digital content sample maybe an individual page in the digital scrapbook, or a portion of ascrapbook page comprising multiple digital content samples. Once adigital scrapbook has been created, the scrapbook function may allow theuser to view and edit that scrapbook. Given the global nature and/oruniqueness of the engagement mechanism, in accordance with some exampleembodiments, the scrapbook creation mode and/or scrapbook viewing modecan be similarly invoked within multiple diverse applications (e.g.,eReader, browser, picture viewer, etc.) and without conflicting withother global gestures that might also be used by the device's operatingsystem.

In some embodiments, the user can engage the scrapbook function byperforming a content sampling command that invokes a scrapbook creationmode. The content sampling command may involve selecting a scrapbookicon or UI control feature, or the sampling command may be a specifictouch screen gesture. In one specific embodiment, the content samplingcommand is a two-contact swipe gesture performed over the content thatis to be sampled. In other embodiments, the swipe gesture may includefewer or more contact points, as will be appreciated in light of thisdisclosure. As used herein, a swipe gesture may include a sweeping ordragging gesture across at least a portion of the touch sensitivesurface; whether directly contacting that surface or hovering over thatsurface (e.g., within a few centimeters or otherwise close enough to bedetected by the touch sensitive surface). In some embodiments, the swipegesture may be performed at a constant speed in one single direction,while in other embodiments the swipe gesture may follow a curved path ora path that delineates the content to be sampled. The gestures can beperformed, for example, with the tip of a finger or a stylus, or anyother suitable implement capable of providing a detectable swipegesture. Once invoked, the scrapbook creation mode may sample thecontent currently displayed (or otherwise selected) on the device anddisplay the digital content sample along with a scrapbook control menu,in accordance with an embodiment.

The scrapbook control menu may allow the user to create a new scrapbookfor the content sample or add that content sample to an existingscrapbook. The user may also create or change the name of scrapbooksthrough a scrapbook control menu. In some embodiments, the user mayabandon the scrapbook function by, for example, closing a scrapbookcontrol menu, tapping an area of the screen away from the scrapbookcontrol menu, or waiting a specified period of time (e.g., five seconds)without selecting a destination for the digital content sample. A numberof control functions suitable for scrapbooking will be apparent in lightof this disclosure. In some embodiments, scrapbooked content may beviewed as html text-based content, or as a static image. If a userscrapbooks a page that includes an article, the text-based article mayalso be included in the destination scrapbook. Likewise, if a catalogueis scrapbooked, the scrapbooking function may also download the productdetail screen information in some embodiments.

The user may also engage the scrapbook function by invoking a scrapbookviewing mode, in accordance with an embodiment. The scrapbook viewingmode may be invoked, for example, by selecting an existing digitalscrapbook file either with a touch screen tap, a gesture, or some othersuitable selection technique. In some embodiments, the selected digitalscrapbook may be displayed to the user using an eReader application orother suitable viewing interface in the same way the user might read anydigital magazine or catalogue. Once the scrapbook viewing mode has beeninvoked, the user may view the scrapbook, add notes to the scrapbook,rearrange scrapbook pages, or otherwise edit the digital scrapbook. Theuser may also interact with the scrapbook via embedded data of thesampled content, such as by accessing an embedded video or audio file,clicking a hyperlink to the original source, or engaging an embeddedfunctional script or code.

The techniques have a number of advantages, as will be appreciated inlight of this disclosure. For instance, in some cases, the techniquescan be employed to provide an intuitive way for a student to createpersonalized and interactive classroom notes. In some such embodiments,a student can browse and collect sample sections of a digital textbook,lecture notes, slides, lecture videos or audio files, or other digitalclassroom materials, thus creating a scrapbook out of sampled materialsrelating to a specific course. In such cases, for instance, the lecturenotes, slides, or other digital content sources may contain embeddeddata such as hyperlinks, hotspots, highlighted sections, rich media, orother encoded data that remains in the content samples saved to thestudent's digital scrapbook. In some example cases, the individualscrapbook pages may be used as flashcards, class notes, student quizzes,etc. In one specific example, a digital scrapbook may be used to createa wish list or shopping list across a range of catalogues. In a moregeneral sense, techniques can be employed to provide an intuitive wayfor a user to create personalized and interactive aggregation ofeducational materials or other digital content from multiple sources,wherein the user can readily access the original content sources of thesampled content.

Architecture

FIGS. 1a-b illustrate an example electronic touch sensitive devicehaving a scrapbook function configured in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. As can be seen, in this example embodiment,the touch sensitive surface is a touch screen display. The device couldbe, for example, a tablet such as the NOOK® tablet or eReader by Barnes& Noble. In a more general sense, the device may be any electronicdevice having a touch sensitive user interface for detecting directtouch or otherwise sufficiently proximate contact, and capability fordisplaying content to a user, such as a mobile phone or mobile computingdevice such as a laptop, a desktop computing system, a television, asmart display screen, or any other device having a touch sensitivedisplay or a non-sensitive display screen that can be used inconjunction with a touch sensitive surface. As will be appreciated inlight of this disclosure, the claimed invention is not intended to belimited to any specific kind or type of electronic device or formfactor.

As can be seen with this example configuration, the device comprises ahousing that includes a number of hardware features such as a powerbutton, control features, and a press-button (sometimes called a homebutton herein). A user interface is also provided, which in this exampleembodiment includes a quick navigation menu having six main categoriesto choose from (Home, Library, Shop, Search, Light, and Settings) and astatus bar that includes a number of icons (a night-light icon, awireless network icon, and a book icon), a battery indicator, and aclock. Other embodiments may have fewer or additional such UI features,or different UI features altogether, depending on the target applicationof the device. Any such general UI controls and features can beimplemented using any suitable conventional or custom technology, aswill be appreciated.

The hardware control features provided on the device housing in thisexample embodiment are configured as elongated press-bars and can beused, for example, to page forward (using the top press-bar) or to pagebackward (using the bottom press-bar), such as might be useful in aneReader application. The power button can be used to turn the device onand off, and may be used in conjunction with a touch-based UI controlfeature that allows the user to confirm a given power transition actionrequest (e.g., such as a slide bar or tap point graphic to turn poweroff). Numerous variations will be apparent, and the claimed invention isnot intended to be limited to any particular set of hardware buttons orUI features, or device form factor.

In this example configuration, the home button is a physicalpress-button that can be used as follows: when the device is awake andin use, pressing the button will display the quick navigation menu,which is a toolbar that provides quick access to various features of thedevice. The home button may also be configured to cease an activefunction that is currently executing on the device (such as a scrapbookcreation or viewing function), or close a configuration sub-menu that iscurrently open. The button may further control other functionality if,for example, the user presses and holds the home button. For instance,an example such push-and-hold function could engage a power conservationroutine where the device is put to sleep or an otherwise lower powerconsumption mode. So, a user could grab the device by the button, pressand keep holding as the device is stowed into a bag or purse. Thus, onephysical gesture may safely put the device to sleep. In such an exampleembodiment, the home button may be associated with and control differentand unrelated actions: 1) show the quick navigation menu; 2) exit aconfiguration sub-menu; and 3) put the device to sleep. As can befurther seen, the status bar may also include a book icon (upper leftcorner). In some cases, selecting the book icon may providebibliographic information on the content or provide the main menu ortable of contents for the book, movie, playlist, or other content.

In one particular embodiment, a scrapbook function configurationsub-menu, such as the one shown in FIG. 1 d, may be accessed byselecting the Settings option in the quick navigation menu, which causesthe device to display the general sub-menu shown in FIG. 1 c. From thisgeneral sub-menu, the user can select any one of a number of options,including one designated Screen/UI in this specific example case.Selecting this sub-menu item may cause the configuration sub-menu ofFIG. 1d to be displayed, in accordance with an embodiment. In otherexample embodiments, selecting the Screen/UI option may present the userwith a number of additional sub-options, one of which may include aso-called “scrapbook function” option, which may then be selected by theuser so as to cause the scrapbook function configuration sub-menu ofFIG. 1d to be displayed. Any number of such menu schemes and nestedhierarchies can be used, as will be appreciated in light of thisdisclosure. In other example embodiments, the scrapbook function ishard-coded such that no configuration sub-menus are needed or otherwiseprovided (e.g., performing a two-contact swipe gesture to sample andsave the current page to a scrapbook as described herein, with no userconfiguration needed). The degree of hard-coding versususer-configurability can vary from one embodiment to the next, and theclaimed invention is not intended to be limited to any particularconfiguration scheme of any kind, as will be appreciated.

As will be appreciated, the various UI control features and sub-menusdisplayed to the user are implemented as touch screen controls in thisexample embodiment. Such UI screen controls can be programmed orotherwise configured using any number of conventional or customtechnologies. In general, the touch screen display translates a touch(direct or hovering, by a user's hand, a stylus, or any other suitableimplement) in a given location into an electrical signal which is thenreceived and processed by the device's underlying operating system (OS)and circuitry (processor, display controller, etc.). In some instances,note that the user need not actually physically touch the touchsensitive device to perform an action. For example, the touch screendisplay may be configured to detect input based on a finger or stylushovering over the touch sensitive surface (e.g., within 3 centimeters ofthe touch screen or otherwise sufficiently proximate to be detected bythe touch sensing circuitry). Additional example details of theunderlying OS and circuitry in accordance with some embodiments will bediscussed in turn with reference to FIG. 2 a.

The touch sensitive surface (or touch sensitive display, in this examplecase) can be any surface that is configured with touch detectingtechnologies, whether capacitive, resistive, acoustic, active-stylus,and/or other input detecting technology, including direct contact and/orproximate contact. In some embodiments, the screen display can belayered above input sensors, such as a capacitive sensor grid forpassive touch-based input, such as with a finger or passive styluscontact in the case of a so-called in-plane switching (IPS) panel, or anelectro-magnetic resonance (EMR) sensor grid for sensing a resonantcircuit of a stylus. In some embodiments, the touch sensitive displaycan be configured with a purely capacitive sensor, while in otherembodiments the touch screen display may be configured to provide ahybrid mode that allows for both capacitive input and EMR input, forexample. In still other embodiments, the touch sensitive surface isconfigured with only an active stylus sensor. Numerous touch screendisplay configurations can be implemented using any number of known orproprietary screen based input detecting technologies. In any suchembodiments, a touch sensitive controller may be configured toselectively scan the touch sensitive surface and/or selectively reportuser inputs detected directly on or otherwise sufficiently proximate to(e.g., within a few centimeters, or otherwise sufficiently close so asto allow detection) the detection surface (or touch sensitive display,in this example case).

As previously explained, and with further reference to FIGS. 1c and 1 d,once the Settings sub-menu is displayed (FIG. 1c ), the user can thenselect the Screen/UI option. In response to such a selection, thescrapbook function configuration sub-menu shown in FIG. 1d can beprovided to the user, in accordance with one such example embodiment.The user can configure a number of features with respect to thescrapbook function, in this example case. For instance, theconfiguration sub-menu includes a UI check box that when checked orotherwise selected by the user, effectively enables the scrapbookfunction (shown in the enabled state); unchecking the box disables thefunction. Other embodiments may have the scrapbook function alwaysenabled, or enabled by a physical switch or button located on thedevice, for example. As previously explained, the scrapbook creationmode may be invoked using a content sampling gesture. In some cases, theuser may configure the content sampling gesture, and in this particularembodiment, the user has selected the two-contact drag gesture as thesampling gesture. Other embodiments may use a different gesture, such asa one-contact drag gesture, a circle gesture, or any other recognizablegesture that can be used to distinctly indicate that scrapbook mode isdesired. In one specific embodiment, an S-shaped gesture is used tosample content. As can be seen in this example, the desired gesture hasbeen selected from a drop-down menu. In still other embodiments, notethat a touch screen gesture is not necessarily required. For instance,in a desktop computing application having a non-touch display and amouse, the content sampling gesture can be the user dragging the cursor(via a click-and-hold mouse-based drag). In a more general sense, anysuitable user input techniques can be used to interact with thescrapbooking function provided herein. Examples provided herein focus ontouch screen technology, but this should not be understood to limit theclaimed invention to touch sensitive technology.

With further reference to the example embodiment of FIG. 1 d, the userhas the option to enable a digital rights management (DRM) basedpurchases (Enable DRM Purchases), and a DRM purchase confirmationfeature (Confirm DRM Purchase) using UI check boxes. In more detail, inorder to save a digital content sample into the user's scrapbook,copyright or other digital rights in the underlying source material mayneed to be licensed, and may or may not require a payment. In somecases, purchasing the source material from an online shopping source,such as an eBook store, may generally grant the user the right to savecopies of certain pages into scrapbooks for personal use, while in othercases an additional or separate royalty might be required to make suchcopies. If the desired content is restricted such that it cannot besampled without a royalty payment (or some further licensing procedure),then the user may be informed of that restriction through a prompt(e.g., “This material is protected by copyright and cannot be sampled”).In such cases, if the user has enabled DRM-based purchases (by checkingthe Enable DRM purchases check box), then the user may be furtherprompted with a purchasing sequence of one or more steps. Otherwise, therestricted content is not allowed to be sampled. Thus, the user canenable the DRM purchase feature to give the user the option to pay anadditional fee or otherwise acquire rights necessary to sample protectedcontent into the user's scrapbooks. Disabling the DRM purchase featurecan be used in some embodiments to effectively limit the user to sampleonly unprotected/free or otherwise properly acquired content intoscrapbooks. If the user has also checked the Confirm DRM purchase checkbox, one of those steps can prompt the user to confirm the purchase(e.g., “Do you wish to purchase a sample of this content?”). A purchaseconfirmation may not be desired, as it generally requires an extra step.In this particular example, the user has activated the DRM purchaseoption and the confirm DRM purchase option is not activated. So, theuser may be able to purchase content using a pre-established purchasingaccount (e.g. credit card or online payment service) with one to twotaps on a touch sensitive screen. Any suitable purchasing sequence andmechanisms can be used, as will be appreciated.

As can be further seen, a back button arrow UI control feature may beprovisioned on the screen for any of the menus provided, so that theuser can go back to the previous menu, if so desired. Note thatconfiguration settings provided by the user can be saved automatically(e.g., user input is saved as selections are made or otherwiseprovided). Alternatively, a save button or other such UI feature can beprovisioned, which the user can engage as desired. The configurationsub-menu shown in FIG. 1d is presented merely as an example of how ascrapbook function may be configured by the user, and numerous otherconfigurable or hard-codable aspects will be apparent in light of thisdisclosure. Note that in some embodiments the scrapbook function may bevisually and/or aurally demonstrated or otherwise confirmed to the uservia animations and/or sound effects. Such animations and sound effectsmay be used to provide clarity to the function being performed orotherwise enhance the user experience. In some embodiments, suchanimations and sound effects may be user-configurable, while in otherembodiments they are hard-coded.

FIG. 2a illustrates a block diagram of an electronic touch screen deviceconfigured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Ascan be seen, this example device includes a processor, memory (e.g., RAMand/or ROM for processor workspace and storage), additionalstorage/memory (e.g., for content), a communications module, a touchscreen, and an audio module. A communications bus and interconnect isalso provided to allow inter-device communication. Other typicalcomponentry and functionality not reflected in the block diagram will beapparent (e.g., battery, co-processor, etc). The touch screen andunderlying circuitry is capable of translating a user's contact (director proximate) with the touch screen into an electronic signal that canbe manipulated or otherwise used to trigger a specific user interfaceaction, such as those provided herein. The principles provided hereinequally apply to any such touch sensitive devices. For ease ofdescription, examples are provided with touch screen technology.

In this example embodiment, the memory includes a number of modulesstored therein that can be accessed and executed by the processor(and/or a co-processor). The modules include an operating system (OS), auser interface (UI), and a power conservation routine (Power). Themodules can be implemented, for example, in any suitable programminglanguage (e.g., C, C++, objective C, JavaScript, custom or proprietaryinstruction sets, etc), and encoded on a machine readable medium, thatwhen executed by the processor (and/or co-processors), carries out thefunctionality of the device including a UI having a scrapbook functionas variously described herein. The computer readable medium may be, forexample, a hard drive, compact disk, memory stick, server, or anysuitable non-transitory computer/computing device memory that includesexecutable instructions, or a plurality or combination of such memories.Other embodiments can be implemented, for instance, with gate-levellogic or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or chip setor other such purpose-built logic, or a microcontroller havinginput/output capability (e.g., inputs for receiving user inputs andoutputs for directing other components) and a number of embeddedroutines for carrying out the device functionality. In short, thefunctional modules can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware,or a combination thereof.

The processor can be any suitable processor (e.g., Texas InstrumentsOMAP4, dual-core ARM Cortex-A9, 1.5 GHz), and may include one or moreco-processors or controllers to assist in device control. In thisexample case, the processor receives input from the user, includinginput from or otherwise derived from the power button and the homebutton. The processor can also have a direct connection to a battery sothat it can perform base level tasks even during sleep or low powermodes. The memory (e.g., for processor workspace and executable filestorage) can be any suitable type of memory and size (e.g., 256 or 512Mbytes SDRAM), and in other embodiments may be implemented withnon-volatile memory or a combination of non-volatile and volatile memorytechnologies. The storage (e.g., for storing consumable content and userfiles) can also be implemented with any suitable memory and size (e.g.,2 GBytes of flash memory). The display can be implemented, for example,with a 7 to 9 inch 1920×1280 IPS LCD touchscreen touch screen, or anyother suitable display and touchscreen interface technology. Thecommunications module can be, for instance, any suitable 802.11 b/g/nWLAN chip or chip set, which allows for connection to a local network,and so that content can be exchanged between the device and a remotesystem (e.g., content provider or repository depending on theapplication of the device). In some specific example embodiments, thedevice housing that contains all the various componentry measures about7″ to 9″ high by about 5″ to 6″ wide by about 0.5″ thick, and weighsabout 7 to 8 ounces. Any number of suitable form factors can be used,depending on the target application (e.g., laptop, desktop, mobilephone, etc). The device may be smaller, for example, for smartphone andtablet applications and larger for smart computer monitor and laptop anddesktop computer applications.

The operating system (OS) module can be implemented with any suitableOS, but in some example embodiments is implemented with Google AndroidOS or Linux OS or Microsoft OS or Apple OS. As will be appreciated inlight of this disclosure, the techniques provided herein can beimplemented on any such platforms. The power management (Power) modulecan be configured as typically done, such as to automatically transitionthe device to a low power consumption or sleep mode after a period ofnon-use. A wake-up from that sleep mode can be achieved, for example, bya physical button press and/or a touch screen swipe or other action. Theuser interface (UI) module can be, for example, based on touchscreentechnology and the various example screen shots and use-case scenariosshown in FIGS. 1 a, 1 c-d, 3 a-d, 4 a-e, 5 a-d, and 6 a-g, and inconjunction with the scrapbooking methodologies demonstrated in FIG. 7,which will be discussed in turn. The audio module can be configured tospeak or otherwise aurally present, for example, a digital contentsample, a selected eBook, or other textual content, and/or to provideverbal and/or other sound-based cues and prompts to guide thescrapbooking process, as will be appreciate in light of this disclosure.Numerous commercially available text-to-speech modules can be used, suchas Verbose text-to-speech software by NCH Software. In some examplecases, if additional space is desired, for example, to store digitalbooks or other content and media, storage can be expanded via a microSDcard or other suitable memory expansion technology (e.g., 32 GBytes, orhigher). Further note that although a touch screen display is provided,other embodiments may include a non-touch screen and a touch sensitivesurface such as a track pad, or a touch sensitive housing configuredwith one or more acoustic sensors, etc.

Client-Server System

FIG. 2b illustrates a block diagram of a communication system configuredin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As can beseen, the system generally includes an electronic touch sensitive device(such as the one in FIG. 2a ) that is capable of communicating with aserver via a network/cloud. In this example embodiment, the electronictouch sensitive device may be, for example, an eBook reader, a mobilecell phone, a laptop, a tablet, desktop, or any other touch sensitivecomputing device. The network/cloud may be a public and/or privatenetwork, such as a private local area network operatively coupled to awide area network such as the Internet. In this example embodiment, theserver may be programmed or otherwise configured to receive contentrequests from a user via the touch sensitive device and to respond tothose requests by performing a desired function or providing the userwith requested or otherwise recommended content. Is some suchembodiments, the server is configured to remotely provision a scrapbookfunction as provided herein to the touch screen device (e.g., viaJavaScript or other browser based technology). In other embodiments,portions of the scrapbooking methodology can be executed on the serverand other portions of the methodology can be executed on the device.Numerous server-side/client-side execution schemes can be implemented tofacilitate a scrapbook function in accordance with an embodiment, aswill be apparent in light of this disclosure.

Scrapbook Function Examples

FIGS. 3a-d collectively illustrate an example scrapbook function thatcan be applied to a touch sensitive display of an electronic device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen,the device housing surrounds the touch screen of the device, and thedevice is displaying a page of a magazine (or any other digital contentof interest to the user). The user can interact with the touch screenwith fingers or other suitable implement, and in this embodiment thecontent sampling command used to invoke the scrapbook creation mode isconfigured to be a two-contact vertical swipe gesture. As will beappreciated, the content sample gesture could be oriented in any desireddirection and may be configured by the user (using the configurationsubmenu of FIG. 1d ) or hard-coded. In the particular example shown inFIG. 3a , the user is performing a two-contact downward swipe gesture.In the example shown in FIG. 3b , the user is performing a two-contactupward swipe gesture across the touch screen. In this example,performing the content sampling command prompts the device to virtuallyrip a sample of the digital content currently being displayed to theuser on the touch screen.

In one example embodiment, when the device is in portrait mode, only onepage of the content is shown on the display screen with a virtual binderalong the left side of the display, and the scrapbooking mode can beconfigured to scan the left side of the screen only for the contentsampling gesture (so as to scan near the virtual binder of the digitaldocument, where a virtual tear gesture can be intuitively provided). Inanother example embodiment, when the device is in landscape mode, twopages of the content can be shown on the display screen with a virtualbinder in the middle between the two pages, and the scrapbooking modecan be configured to only scan the middle screen portion of the screenfor the content sampling gesture (again, so as to scan near the virtualbinder of the digital document, where a virtual tear gesture can beintuitively provided). In still other embodiments, the entire touchscreen display area can be scanned for the content sample gesture.

Once the content sampling command has been performed and detected, thescrapbook creation mode can be displayed to the user, as shown in theexample embodiment of FIG. 3c . In this example, the scrapbook creationmode includes a content sample portion and a scrapbook control menu. Thecontent sample portion displays to the user the digital content samplethat has been virtually ripped from the original content source, and inthis specific embodiment it is shown with an uneven torn edge on theside of the page, mimicking the look of a page torn from a physicalmagazine.

With further reference to the example embodiment of FIG. 3c , thescrapbook control menu shows a list of scrapbooks to the user, alongwith an icon for creating a new scrapbook, as well as UI controlfeatures for accepting and canceling the scrapbook creation mode. Thescrapbook control menu may allow the user to select an existingscrapbook to save the digital content sample into, or create a newscrapbook for the sample. In this particular embodiment, the user hasselected the scrapbook titled “Julie's Recipes” and the digital contentsample is saved into that scrapbook. In some embodiments, the scrapbookcreation mode may be further configured to allow the user to insert thesampled content at a specific user-selected location of the existingscrapbook (e.g., between pages 4 and 5, for instance). In some suchcases, the pages of the existing scrapbook can be presented to the useralong with page numbers and a progress bar in a scrapbook page viewer(similar to that shown in FIG. 5b-d ) that appears in response to theuser dragging a new sample to an existing scrapbook. The user can thenhold the dragged sample to be dropped over the scrapbook viewer in sucha fashion so as to cause the underlying pages in the scrapbook pageviewer to scroll in either the forward or backward direction (e.g., byholding the content to be dropped toward the right side of viewer topage forward or toward the left side of the viewer to page backward).Once the user has scrolled to the desired drop location, the user canmove the dragged content to be dropped into the center of the scrapbookpage viewer and drop it at that location, thereby causing that droppedcontent to be inserted in the desired drop location. To this end, thescrapbooking function can leverage drag-and-drop functionality fornavigating and placing of content within a given scrapbook. The user mayalso abandon the scrapbook function and close the scrapbook control menuby pressing the cancel UI control feature in this example.

As can be seen in FIG. 3d , once the digital content sample has beensaved into a selected scrapbook, the scrapbook creation mode may befurther programmed or otherwise configured to display a confirmationwindow notifying the user that the clipping has been saved to thedesired digital scrapbook. In one such example embodiment, theconfirmation window is displayed to the user for a short period of time(e.g., three seconds) and then slowly fades away. The confirmationwindow may be semi-translucent, so as to not block the underlyingcontent from view.

FIGS. 4a -e collectively illustrate an example scrapbook function thatcan be applied to a touch sensitive display of an electronic device, inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention. As can beseen, the device housing surrounds the touch screen of the device, thedevice is displaying a page of a magazine, and the user can interactwith the touch screen with a finger or fingers or another suitableimplement. In this example scenario, the content sampling command isprovided by selecting a scrapbook icon from an options menu. In theparticular example shown in FIGS. 4a -b, the user performs a quick tapgesture (e.g., lasting less than 1 second) on the touch screen device(FIG. 4a ), so as to bring up an options menu (FIG. 4b ).

Thus, the scrapbooking function of this example embodiment is configuredto respond to a screen tap on a piece of content by providing theoptions menu. As can further be seen with reference to FIG. 4b , theoptions menu contains a number of icons, including an “i” which maydisplay information regarding the content displayed on the device, atable of contents icon, a visual table of contents icon shown as a gridof tiles, and a scrapbooking icon that may appear as a pair of scissors.If the user wishes to virtually rip the content currently displayed onthe device, the user can tap the scissors icon. In response to thatcontent sampling command, the device may display the scrapbook creationmode shown in FIG. 4c , including the content sampling portion and thescrapbook control menu. As discussed in reference to FIG. 3c , thedigital content sample may be shown with a torn edge, as if the page hadbeen physically ripped from a magazine or catalogue.

In this example embodiment, the user wishes to create a new scrapbookfor the digital content sample, so the user selects the new scrapbookicon with a finger or other suitable implement. In some embodiments,when the new scrapbook icon is selected, the device may display a newscrapbook title window as shown in the example of FIG. 4d . The newscrapbook title window may include a virtual keyboard, in someembodiments, and the user may provide the scrapbook name or cancel thescrapbook naming and save function by selecting either a Cancel or Ok UIcontrol feature. As can be seen in FIG. 4e , once the digital contentsample has been saved into a new scrapbook, the scrapbook creation modemay display a confirmation window notifying the user that the clippinghas been successfully saved. In one embodiment, the confirmation windowis displayed to the user for a short period of time (e.g., threeseconds) and then slowly fades away.

FIGS. 5a-d collectively illustrate an example scrapbook viewing andediting mode that can be applied to a touch sensitive display of anelectronic device, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. As can be seen, the device housing surrounds the touch screenof the device, the device is displaying a page of one of the user'sscrapbooks, and the user can interact with the touch screen with afinger or fingers or other suitable implement. In this particularexample, the user performs a quick tap gesture (e.g., lasting less than1 second) on the touch screen device (FIG. 5a ), thus bringing up anoptions menu as well as a scrapbook page viewer graphic (FIG. 5b ).

As can be seen in FIG. 5b , the page viewer graphic may show the pagespreads of the scrapbook (a page spread refers to two neighboring pageswith a virtual center binding), the scrapbook page numbers, and aprogress bar that visually displays the location of the current pagewithin the entire scrapbook. In some embodiments a digital scrapbook maybe displayed to the reader in the same way content is displayed in amagazine or comics reader application. In one embodiment, a scrapbookmay be opened for viewing and editing by selecting it from a scrapbookgroup within the device's digital library. The user can navigate thecontent using the scrapbook page viewer in a similar fashion to the mainviewer, by swiping gestures over the displayed content to page forwardand backward. In addition, a quick tap on a given page within thescrapbook page viewer will cause the main viewer to change to that page.As the user scrolls forward and backward through the content in thescrapbook page viewer, the page numbers scroll in unison as does theprogress bar.

The user can also use the scrapbook page viewer to edit scrapbookcontent. For example, and as further shown in the example of FIG. 5b ,the user may perform a press-and-hold gesture on one of the page spreadsof the scrapbook page viewer to initiate a page reordering within thescrapbook. For instance, in this example, the press-and-hold gestureeffectively grabs the selected page spread, and the user may drag thepage spread to the right, as shown in FIG. 5c , in order to move thepage spread to another area of the scrapbook in the forward direction.As the user holds the page to be moved against the right side of thedevice screen, the content of the scrapbook page viewer scrolls forward,as evidenced by the increasing page numbers from FIGS. 5b to 5c . Asshown in the example of FIG. 5d , once the scrapbook page viewer scrollsto the desired location, the user may then drag-and-drop the page spreadback into the scrapbook page viewer at that location (between pages 68and 69, in this example scenario), such that the dropped page spread isinserted at that location and the page numbers are updated to reflectthe new page order. In other scenarios, the pages of the scrapbook maybe displayed as a grid of tiles, each tile being a page of thescrapbook, wherein the user can press-and-hold any one or set ofselected tiles and drag-and-drop that set at a desired location withinthe tile grid to cause the pages to reorder accordingly. Numerous pageordering techniques can be used, as will be appreciated in light of thisdisclosure.

As previously explained, pages may also be added to a given scrapbook,and may also be deleted. For example, in one embodiment, thescrapbooking function is configured to delete content, for example, inresponse to a user providing an X-gesture on the page to deleted, or byselecting a page and then selecting a cut or delete UI control function.A delete confirmation (e.g., pop-up window with appropriate user prompt)can be provided as well. Numerous such editing tools will be apparent inlight of this disclosure.

FIGS. 6a-g collectively illustrate an example scrapbook viewing andediting mode that can be applied to a touch sensitive display of anelectronic device, in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention. As can be seen, the device housing surrounds the touch screenof the device, the device is displaying a page of one of the user'sscrapbooks, and the user can interact with the touch screen with afinger or other suitable implement. In this particular example, the userperforms a short tap-and-hold gesture, which may also be described as along-press gesture (e.g., lasting about 1 to 3 seconds), on the touchscreen device, thus bringing up a number of action bubbles allowing theuser to remove the current page from the scrapbook, add a note, or viewthe original content source. In this example, selecting the “ViewOriginal Content Source” action bubble may bring the user to the digitalcontent source from which that particular scrapbook page was virtuallyripped. Such an embodiment allows the digital scrapbook to act as a linkback to the magazine, catalogue, or other digital content from which thescrapbook page originated. In this particular example, the user wishesto add a note, and therefore has selected the “Add Note” action bubbleas shown in FIG. 6b . In some embodiments, adding a note will bring up anote creation window, like the one shown in FIG. 6c , which allows theuser to add a text note using a virtual keyboard in this examplescenario. As can be further seen, the user may abandon the note addingfunction or save the note by selecting either the Cancel button or theOk button within the note creation window. After creating a note, thescrapbook page may display a note icon, like the example one shown inFIG. 6d . In some such embodiments, the user may view the contents ofthe note by tapping the note icon.

FIG. 6e shows an example of how the contents of a note may be displayedto the user after tapping the note icon. The note text may be shownalong with the date and time of the note's creation. The user may selectfrom a number of note options including, close, delete, or edit. In theexample shown, the scrapbook content is shown faded in the background,or otherwise diminished in appearance with respect to the note.Alternatively, a note icon may be included in an options menu which maybe displayed to the user after performing a short tap gesture on thetouch screen, in accordance with some embodiments. The options menu maybe similar to the one shown in FIG. 4b , but may include a note iconthat when selected may display all of the notes associated with theparticular scrapbook being displayed on the device. In the example shownin FIG. 6f , the scrapbook content appears faded behind a notes menuthat is displaying three notes to the user. In this particular example,the user may select a specific note from the notes menu or clear all thenotes. If the user wishes to remove all notes, selecting the “Clear allmy notes” UI button may prompt the user to confirm the note removal. Anexample of such a confirmation dialog is illustrated in FIG. 6g ,including the options to cancel or confirm the note removal.

Methodology

FIG. 7 illustrates a method for providing a scrapbook function in anelectronic touch screen device, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. This example methodology may be implemented, forinstance, by the UI module of the example touch screen device shown inFIG. 2a , or the example touch screen device shown in FIG. 2b (e.g.,with the UI provisioned to the client by the server). To this end, thescrapbook function can be implemented in software, hardware, firmware,or any combination thereof, as will be appreciated in light of thisdisclosure.

As can be seen, the method generally includes sensing a user's input bya touch screen display. As soon as the user begins to swipe, drag orotherwise move a contact point, the UI code (and/or hardware) can assumea swipe gesture has been engaged and track the path of the contact pointwith respect to any fixed point within the touch screen until the userstops engaging the touch screen surface. The release point can also becaptured by the UI as it may be used to commit the action started whenthe user pressed on the touch sensitive screen. In a similar fashion, ifthe user releases hold without moving the contact point, a tap or pressor press-and-hold command may be assumed depending on the amount of timethe user was continually pressing on the touch sensitive screen. Thesemain detections can be used in various ways to implement UIfunctionality, including a scrapbook function as variously describedherein, as will be appreciated in light of this disclosure.

In this example case, the method includes detecting 701 a user contacton the touch sensitive interface. As described above, the contact may beperformed in any suitable manner using a stylus, the user's finger, orany other suitable implement, and it may be performed on a touch screensurface, a track pad, acoustic sensor, or other touch sensitive surface.The user contact monitoring is essentially continuous. Once a usercontact has been detected, the method may continue with determining 702whether a scrapbook creation mode has been invoked (e.g., based on typeof gesture and/or location of gesture on touch screen, as previouslyexplained). If the scrapbook creation mode is invoked, the method maycontinue with sampling 703 the content currently displayed on the devicescreen. Sampling the content on the screen may include sampling all of,or just a portion of the content being displayed to the user. In someembodiments, the scrapbook function is programmed or otherwiseconfigured to take the entire page. In in other cases, the user may begiven an opportunity to select portions of a given page.

The method may continue with displaying 704 the content sample alongwith a scrapbook control menu. The content sample being displayed mayappear with a torn edge, as if the page had been ripped from a physicalmagazine or catalogue, in some embodiments. The method may continue withdetermining 705 whether an existing scrapbook is selected from thescrapbook control menu. If an existing scrapbook is selected, the methodmay continue with adding 706 the content sample to the selectedscrapbook. If an existing scrapbook is not selected from the scrapbookcontrol menu, the method may continue with creating 707 a new scrapbookinto which the content sample may be saved. In some embodiments the usermay choose to create a new scrapbook for the sampled content byselecting a “new scrapbook” icon from the scrapbook control menu. Themethod may continue with displaying 708 a post-creation window orscrapbook creation notification which confirms to the user the creationof the new scrapbook. In some cases, tapping on the post-creation windowmay allow the user to jump to the newly created scrapbook.

If the scrapbook creation mode is not invoked at 702, the method maycontinue with determining 709 whether a scrapbook viewing mode isinvoked. If a scrapbook viewing mode is not invoked, the contact may bereviewed 710 for some other UI request. If the scrapbook viewing mode isinvoked, the method may continue with displaying 711 the selectedscrapbook to the user and allowing user editing of the scrapbook. Insome embodiments, the scrapbook may be displayed in an eReaderapplication just as any eBook, magazine, or catalogue might bedisplayed, and editing the scrapbook may include adding or removingnotes, or changing the order of the scrapbook pages.

Numerous variations and embodiments will be apparent in light of thisdisclosure. One example embodiment of the present invention provides adevice including a touch screen display for displaying digital contentto a user and allowing user input. The device also includes a userinterface including a scrapbooking function having a scrapbook creationmode and a scrapbook viewing mode, wherein in response to a contentsampling command, the scrapbook creation mode is configured to present ascrapbook control menu and a digital content sample selected fromdigital content displayed on the touch screen display, the scrapbookcontrol menu allowing the user to add the digital content sample to adigital scrapbook, and wherein the scrapbook viewing mode is configuredto allow the user to view and edit digital scrapbooks created with thescrapbook creation mode. In some cases, the content sampling commandincludes at least one of a two-contact downward swipe gesture, atwo-contact upward swipe gesture, and/or selecting a scrapbook touchscreen control feature. In some cases, the digital content sampleincludes metadata data present in the digital content displayed on thetouch screen display, the metadata embedded within the sample. In somecases, the scrapbook control menu is configured to allow the user tocreate a new digital scrapbook. In some cases, the digital contentsample is displayed with a torn edge. In some cases, the digital contentsample includes a link to the digital content from which it is sampled.In some cases, the scrapbooking function is fully integrated within aneReader application. In some cases, the scrapbook creation mode allowsthe user to purchase a license if creating the digital content sample isotherwise not allowed. In some cases, the scrapbook creation mode isfurther configured to display a confirmation window when a digitalcontent sample is added to a digital scrapbook. In some cases, thescrapbook viewing mode is further configured to allow the user tocreate, remove, and/or edit notes relating to the digital contentsample. In some cases, the scrapbook viewing mode is further configuredto allow the user to reorder the pages of a digital scrapbook. In somecases, a page of the digital scrapbook includes a plurality of digitalcontent samples.

Another example embodiment of the present invention provides a mobilecomputing system including a processor and a touch screen display fordisplaying content to a user and allowing user input, and a userinterface executable on the processor and including a scrapbookingfunction having a scrapbook creation mode and a scrapbook viewing mode,wherein in response to a content sampling command, the scrapbookcreation mode is configured to present a scrapbook control menu and adigital content sample selected from digital content displayed on thetouch screen display, the scrapbook control menu allowing the user toadd the digital content sample to a digital scrapbook, and wherein thescrapbook viewing mode is configured to allow the user to view and editdigital scrapbooks created with the scrapbook creation mode. In somecases, the content sampling command includes at least one of atwo-contact downward swipe gesture, a two-contact upward swipe gesture,and/or selecting a scrapbook touch screen control feature. In somecases, the digital content sample includes encrypted data present in thedigital content from which it is sampled. In some cases, the scrapbookcreation mode is further configured to display a confirmation windowwhen a digital content sample is added to a digital scrapbook.

Another example embodiment of the present invention provides a computerprogram product including a plurality of instructions non-transientlyencoded thereon to facilitate operation of an electronic deviceaccording to a process. The computer program product may include one ormore computer readable mediums such as, for example, a hard drive,compact disk, memory stick, server, cache memory, register memory,random access memory, read only memory, flash memory, or any suitablenon-transitory memory that is encoded with instructions that can beexecuted by one or more processors, or a plurality or combination ofsuch memories. In this example embodiment, the process is configured toreceive at the electronic device a content sampling command associatedwith digital content displayed on the electronic device, display on theelectronic device a scrapbook control menu and a digital content sampleselected from the digital content displayed on the electronic device,receive at the scrapbook control menu a command to add the digitalcontent sample to a digital scrapbook, and save the digital contentsample to the digital scrapbook. In some cases, the content samplingcommand includes at least one of a two-contact downward swipe gesture, atwo-contact upward swipe gesture, and/or selecting a scrapbook touchscreen control feature. In some cases, the digital content sampleincludes encrypted data present in the digital content from which it issampled. In some cases, the process is further configured to display thecontents of a digital scrapbook and allow editing of the digitalscrapbook in response to a scrapbook viewing command.

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light ofthis disclosure. It is intended that the scope of the invention belimited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claimsappended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a touchsensitive display for displaying digital content to a user and allowinguser input, wherein the digital content forms part of a content itemthat is accessible via the electronic device; and a user interfacehaving a content sampling mode that is responsive to a content samplinggesture, wherein, in response to receiving the content sampling gesture,the content sampling mode causes display of a scrapbook control menu onthe touch sensitive display, the scrapbook control menu including a listof digital scrapbooks and occupying a first portion of the touchsensitive display, wherein the scrapbook control menu was not displayedwhen the content sampling gesture was received, and wherein, in responseto receiving the content sampling gesture, the content sampling modecauses display of a reduced size replication of the digital content on asecond portion of the touch sensitive display that is not occupied bythe scrapbook control menu; the user interface further having ascrapbooking mode that is responsive to a scrapbook selection gesturethat is applied to a selected one of the digital scrapbooks listed inthe scrapbook control menu, wherein the selected digital scrapbookcomprises a plurality of virtual pages arranged in a sequential order,wherein the scrapbook selection gesture is received while the reducedsize replication of the digital content remains displayed on the secondportion of the touch sensitive display, wherein, in response toreceiving the scrapbook selection gesture, the scrapbooking mode causesdisplay of a first set of scrapbook page thumbnails, each of whichcorresponds to one of the virtual pages of the selected digitalscrapbook, wherein, in response to receiving a scrolling gesture, thescrapbooking mode causes display of a second set of scrapbook pagethumbnails, each of which corresponds to one of the virtual pages of theselected digital scrapbook, wherein the scrolling gesture is receivedwhile the reduced size replication of the digital content remainsdisplayed on the second portion of the touch sensitive display, wherein,in response to receiving an insertion gesture, the scrapbooking modecauses the digital content to be inserted into the selected digitalscrapbook, and wherein the insertion gesture is a touch release gesturethat is received while the reduced size replication of the digitalcontent remains displayed on the second portion of the touch sensitivedisplay.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first andsecond sets of scrapbook page thumbnails are displayed in a userinterface panel that includes a scrollbar that indicates page numberscorresponding to virtual pages associated with the scrapbook pagethumbnails in the respective first and second sets.
 3. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein: the insertion gesture is associated with aparticular scrapbook page thumbnail in the second set; and the digitalcontent is inserted adjacent to a scrapbook page corresponding to theparticular scrapbook page thumbnail.
 4. The electronic device of claim1, wherein the scrapbook page thumbnails in the second set are displayedin the sequential order.
 5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein:the digital content includes metadata that is not displayed on the touchsensitive display; and in response to the insertion gesture, thescrapbooking mode further causes the metadata to be associated with theselected digital scrapbook.
 6. A non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause a digital scrapbooking process to be carried out, theprocess comprising: causing display of digital content on a touchsensitive display that forms part of an electronic device; in responseto receiving a content sampling command, causing display of a scrapbookcontrol menu on the touch sensitive display, the scrapbook control menuidentifying a plurality of digital scrapbooks, wherein the scrapbookcontrol menu occupies a first portion of the touch sensitive display;further in response to receiving the content sampling command, causingdisplay of a reduced size replication of the digital content on a secondportion of the touch sensitive display; receiving, via the scrapbookcontrol menu, a scrapbook selection gesture that identifies a selectedone of the plurality of digital scrapbooks, wherein the selected digitalscrapbook comprises a plurality of virtual pages; in response toreceiving the scrapbook selection gesture, causing display of a firstset of scrapbook page thumbnails, each of which corresponds to one ofthe virtual pages of the selected digital scrapbook; in response toreceiving a scrolling gesture, causing display of a second set ofscrapbook page thumbnails, each of which corresponds to one of thevirtual pages of the selected digital scrapbook; and receiving aninsertion gesture that is associated with a particular scrapbook pagethumbnail in the second set, wherein the insertion gesture is a touchrelease gesture; wherein at least one of the scrapbook selectiongesture, the scrolling gesture, and the insertion gesture are receivedwhile the reduced size replication of the digital content remainsdisplayed on the second portion of the touch sensitive display.
 7. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein: the digitalcontent forms part of a content item that is accessible via theelectronic device; and the electronic device includes the one or moreprocessors.
 8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6,wherein the content sampling command is received while the digitalcontent is displayed on the touch sensitive display.
 9. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the contentsampling command comprises a swiping gesture that is detected on aregion of the touch sensitive display.
 10. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 6, wherein the scrapbook control menu comprisesan array of scrapbook thumbnails, each of which represents one of theplurality of digital scrapbooks.
 11. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 6, wherein the scrapbook control menu was notdisplayed before the content sampling command was received.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the secondportion of the touch sensitive display is not occupied by the scrapbookcontrol menu.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim6, wherein the plurality of virtual pages are arranged in a sequentialorder.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6,wherein the scrapbook selection gesture, the scrolling gesture, and theinsertion gesture are all received while the reduced size replication ofthe digital content remains displayed on the second portion of the touchsensitive display.
 15. A computer-implemented method comprising: causingdisplay of digital content on a touch sensitive display that forms partof an electronic device, wherein the digital content forms part of acontent item that is accessible via the electronic device; receiving,via the touch sensitive display while the digital content is beingdisplayed thereon, a content sampling command that comprises a swipinggesture that is detected on the touch sensitive display; in response toreceiving the content sampling command, causing display of a scrapbookcontrol menu on the touch sensitive display, the scrapbook control menuincluding a listing of a plurality of digital scrapbooks, wherein thescrapbook control menu occupies a first portion of the touch sensitivedisplay; further in response to receiving the content sampling command,causing display of a reduced size replication of the digital content ona second portion of the touch sensitive display that is not occupied bythe scrapbook control menu; receiving, via the scrapbook control menu, ascrapbook selection gesture that is associated with a selected one ofthe plurality of digital scrapbooks, wherein the selected digitalscrapbook comprises a plurality of virtual pages arranged in asequential order; in response to receiving the scrapbook selectiongesture, causing display of a first set of scrapbook page thumbnails,each of which corresponds to one of the virtual pages of the selecteddigital scrapbook; in response to receiving a scrolling gesture, causingdisplay of a second set of scrapbook page thumbnails, each of whichcorresponds to one of the virtual pages of the selected digitalscrapbook; and receiving an insertion gesture that is associated with aparticular scrapbook page thumbnail in the second set, wherein thescrapbook selection gesture, the scrolling gesture, and the insertiongesture are each received while the reduced size replication of thedigital content remains displayed on the second portion of the touchsensitive display.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15,wherein the first and second sets of scrapbook page thumbnails are eachdisplayed in the sequential order.
 17. The computer-implemented methodof claim 15, further comprising, in response to receiving the insertiongesture, causing the digital content to be inserted adjacent to ascrapbook page corresponding to the particular scrapbook page thumbnail.18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising, inresponse to receiving the insertion gesture, causing the digital contentto be inserted into the selected digital scrapbook.
 19. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the scrapbook selectiongesture, the scrolling gesture, and the insertion gesture collectivelycomprise a combined touch, drag, and release gesture.
 20. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the scrapbook controlmenu further includes a user interface element associated with creationof a new digital scrapb